But it was worth it. The family arrived back in Plainfield by midday Oct. 29, effectively outrunning the storm.

She called American Airlines that afternoon and asked for a refund for the canceled flight.

"The woman on the phone was very gracious and said it would be no problem to get a refund," Cole said. "She gave me our ticket numbers so I could track the refund and said we would be refunded $148.55 for each of our three tickets."

The $445.65 would come in handy, in part to pay for the one-way car rental, gas, and a hotel room along the way.

On Nov. 9, she received an email from American saying one of the three checks for $148.55 had been cut and sent to an address in Dallas.

"I responded right away that that wasn't our address," Cole said. "We live in Plainfield and have never lived in Texas."

Because she had purchased the airline tickets through Priceline, Cole thought maybe American had sent the refunds there.

She called Priceline, where a customer service agent told her the company has no office at that address in Texas.

On Nov. 14, American emailed her again. It said the check hadn't been returned, and the airline would have to wait to see if the check gets cashed. If it didn't, American would stop payment and reissue the check.

By late November, Cole still hadn't seen her refund from American, so she called yet again. After making no progress with a customer service agent, she was instructed to call the company's refund department. She had endless difficulties getting through.

After she hung up, she emailed What's Your Problem?

"It is getting clear that no refund is going to happen unless I either spend the rest of my life on the phone, writing emails and letters," Cole said. "I'm ready to pound my head against the wall."

The Problem Solver called American Airlines spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan, who promised to look into the situation.

A short time later, Fagan emailed back.

"First, I am truly sorry that Ms. Cole encountered difficulties when she tried to obtain a reimbursement for the tickets that she and her family were unable to use because of Hurricane Sandy," Fagan wrote. "As I was able to determine, unfortunately a reservations agent made an error when initially authorizing the refund, which caused the refund to go to that strange address."

Fagan said the refund should have been sent to Priceline, which purchased the tickets on Cole's behalf.

"We are addressing the issue and we should have the refund remitted to Priceline soon," the spokeswoman said.

Cole will then have to obtain the refund from Priceline.

American Airlines will give Cole a $100 voucher "as a gesture of good will in appreciation of her patience and understanding," Fagan said. "We value our customer relationships and sincerely regret the inconveniences that Ms. Cole faced."

After hearing that American would issue the refund to Priceline, Cole called Priceline again and explained the situation.

The customer service agent promised to look into matters.

"She said once they get the refund, they will refund me," Cole said. "I understand they'd want to wait to get the money first."

Fagan said American Airlines cut the checks Wednesday and sent them to Priceline Thursday.

At the time this column was written, Cole had not yet seen the $445.65. The Problem Solver promises to provide an update when the check arrives.